FM21: BODØ / GLIMT - We will make the northerners proud.

[KlaaZ]

Do it, you won't regret it!

[john1]

You should beat Celtic  

[MattyLewis11]

29 minutes ago, john1 said:

You should beat Celtic  

I will be playing the first leg and most likely the second tomorrow so keep your eyes peeled for the update. 

1 hour ago, KlaaZ said:

Do it, you won't regret it!

He's certainly a top target for post season recruitment. 

[MattyLewis11]

UCL Third Round of Qualifying 

The day has arrived, we faced Celtic in the first leg of qualification at home and I must admit I was suffering from pre-match nerves. As you will know for me I see the European games as a big test in terms of our development as a team and the tie thrown up against one of the big two from Scotland most certainly would provide me with an accurate representation of our progress. 

The first goal of the game came after 22 minutes, our usual build up play favours the right flank/half space and some close interchanges between Halsoy and Sampsted enabled Berg to find some room on the edge of the box to thread the ball through a crowded box to find Tounekti who slammed the ball past Bain in goal. 1-0 to Glimt! Two minutes later we were back on the scoresheet again, Junker receiving the ball with his back to goal and was allowed time to turn on the ball to play a pass into space for both Tounekti and Bjorkan to run onto, you will notice from the below image that we had a two man overload down the left flank which was exploited by the deep-lying forward, Tounekti made no mistake beating Bain from his favoured angle. 2-0 to Glimt...could we now relax?

Celtic took only three minutes to respond to the initial shock of being hit by the double-whammy, Forrest was allowed both time and space to create a better shooting angle for himself within our box from Bjorkan and curled a shot towards the far post, Klaesson was able to get his fingers to the ball but his connection wasn't strong enough, the ball rolled to the feet of Christie who was following in at the back post for a tap in. 2-1.

The game now was was being at a frantic pace from both teams, despite my calls from the side-line to 'focus' were having none of it! With 38 minutes on the clock Daland found Bjorkan with a progressive pass enabling the CWB to get 1v1 against his opponent in the final third, instead of crossing he cut the ball back at an acute angle to the feet of Tounekti and the youngster put his name in the headlights (and no doubt the shop-window) The score was 3-1 and we made it to the break.

Celtic Manager (Scott Brown) clearly had some firm words with his side at the break, they had come out for the second half a different beast, Donnum committed a foul whilst helping out defensively in the box and Celtic were awarded the penalty, Turnbull sent the keeper the wrong way and the hoops were back in the game. 3-2.

In the 48th minute it was Celtic's turn to exploit some poor defensive positioning, the gap between Bjorkan and Daland was to big which invited the ball to be played through the channel for Forrest to run onto, presenting him with a 1v1. His shot hit the far post and as Klaesson attempted to recover the ball which was travelling across the line, our keeper clutched the ball to his chest and in doing so carried the ball over his own goal-line, the refs watch beeped and the goal was awarded! 3-3. 

The madness had not finished, four minutes after the bizzare goal, Bjorkan was allowed a second chance to deliver a cross to the far post, this time the ball beat the first man and was headed home by Donnum who made ammends for his earlier mistake, we had regained the lead in this pendulum of a match! 

with 65 minutes on the clock Celtic took advantage of our high-line playing a route one ball over the top to the advancing Ajeti who made it 4-4. 

The game then calmed down and it was that stage of the game where substitutes were needed, I opted to bring on Botheim and Boniface to replace Junker and Tounekti and boy oh boy was I rewarded for making an attacking choice. 

Fet crossed the ball for Botheim in the dangerous area between the penalty spot and the six yard box, his presence attracted two defenders and he was able to flick/misjudge/shoulder the ball to the now vacant Boniface at the far post, the Nigerian had the simple task of placing the ball into an empty net to secure the win! 5-4

 

Edited August 4, 2021 by MattyLewis11

[deltablue]

That was a great match.

[MattyLewis11]

The final hurdle - after securing the result we desired at Celtic Park, the final opponent between ourselves and the UCL is Dinamo Zagreb! 

Celtic didn't learn from their mistakes in the first-leg as we secured a 2-1 victory away from home. 

The first goal credited Tounekti's vision (12), composure (14) and passing (12) as his ball in behind Celtic's high line exposed them in transition and enabled Junker to score from a 1v1. 

Our second goal again highlights our exceptional ability to create overloads in attack - I have highlighted Celtic's back four, you will notice how Hendry has opted to jump from his position within the defensive block in order to pressure Saltnes. This forces Ralston to mark Tounekti allowing Bjorkan to advance up the field and recieve the pass on the opposite side to where we build-up play. The CWB opted to strike the ball, his clean hit arrowing into the roof of the net. 

 

[LHurlz]

Loving this so far mate, what a result against Celtic! Might I ask what skin you're using btw?

[Sonic Youth]

Fun read 

Looks like you ticked off the getting out of the group stage last season in Europe already! Fingers crossed you make the UCL group stage and progress out of that group! But I’m forecasting a bunch there 

Loving the uptick in attacking form in the league this season compared to last. It was great to have that post on how you make the squad analysis table and interpretation of it 

Also the table for goals and creating too 

Tenterhooks is what I have now waiting to see if you make the UCL group stage!

Oh, and now I see why you didn’t sign that Italian. He wasn’t Norwegian 

[MattyLewis11]

38 minutes ago, Sonic Youth said:

Fun read 

Looks like you ticked off the getting out of the group stage last season in Europe already! Fingers crossed you make the UCL group stage and progress out of that group! But I’m forecasting a bunch there 

Loving the uptick in attacking form in the league this season compared to last. It was great to have that post on how you make the squad analysis table and interpretation of it 

Also the table for goals and creating too 

Tenterhooks is what I have now waiting to see if you make the UCL group stage!

Oh, and now I see why you didn’t sign that Italian. He wasn’t Norwegian 

I am glad you have enjoyed the read and yes I think we kind of half ticked the objective last year in terms of getting out of the group stage, however as Rosenborg have played in the UCL I think I will reserve ticking of that as achieved as the UEL progression was laughable and to say claim we are the most successful Norwegian team in Europe after that wouldn't be fair. Although saying that the wins this season in Europe via qualifying have us obtaining a few points to eat into their target of 87 victories. 

It doesn't look as if they will progress in Europe this season as they have drawn Napoli in the final qualifying round of the UECL, Kristiansund do have a chance of making the UECL proper as they face CS Craiova, I am hoping they are successful as having two sides in Europe will go a long way in boosting the Eliteserien in terms of the co-efficient - I am clearly playing the long game with the objectives! 

I am glad you are enjoying the analysis and the visuals - I think going forward I will look to conduct one for my standout player of each season to give the readers a feel for how they have impacted the side. 

I will play the UCL fixtures tonight and update everyone tomorrow, thanks for the comment 

Edited August 4, 2021 by MattyLewis11

[MattyLewis11]

1 hour ago, LHurlz said:

Loving this so far mate, what a result against Celtic! Might I ask what skin you're using btw?

Thanks @LHurlz the skin is by Rensie

Yes I was absolutely buzzing with the result against Celtic, especially the first leg which was an exhilarating ride! 

[MattyLewis11]

Champions League Money

Dinamo Zagreb were the only thing to stand between ourselves and the group stage of the UCL, a game which would see the victors pick up an initial payment of close to £14m and the opportunity to win an extra £2.46m per win and £822k per draw! 

This tie could secure the finances of the club for the foreseeable future and also allow us to invest on improving our four-star training/youth facilities to continue to etch Glimt's name on the map as the leading Academy/Club in Norway.

Zagreb would be no push-overs. the Croatian Champions have had an easier ride to this point in qualifying as they have faced CSKA-Sofia (6-2), Slovan Bratislava (3-1) and Malmo FF (4-0). 

We played the first game at home and the comfort of playing in familiar surroundings with our own fans certainly settled the nerves of the playing squad. To come away with a first leg lead was satisfying, we edged possesion 59% to 41%, this was aided by a commanding performance from Patrick Berg, our man completing exactly double the amount any Zagreb player. It was Berg's 15th assist of the season which led to our second goal (Donnum), the first come from the penalty spot from Saltnes.

Both teams had the same amount of shots 16, Zagreb were the side to work the keeper the most with 10 landing within the frame of the gal compared to our 4, you know what we will be working on over the next week! 

Bjorkdan and Lode were the kings of the air, winning the most amount of headers on the pitch (5) the duo were effective at helping us to nullify the treat of Mislav Orsic by cutting out his crosses/long balls. The inverted winger for Zagreb led the way in relation to that metric with 18 all together.

The pressure of the home crowd and the challenge of overturning the first-leg defeat in my opinion was too much for the Zagreb side to handle, which seen them change their approach play opting to play a longer ball. I have tried to capture this in the below image which compares all passes in the middle third across both legs.

Comparing the visual you will see that the first leg (left) appears more dense, whilst in contrast the second leg highlights the emphasis of playing a longer more riskier pass in order to try to play closer to our goal. This risky strategy was not effective in the slightest. Berg finished the game with three times as many passes as any other Zagreb player and we had a whopping 63% of the ball. 

Bjorkdan and Daland both operating down the left side of our defensive block picked up a combined nine interceptions, which also helps to understand why we were able to dominate the ball. 

We finally have secured our spot within the UCL and below you will see the other sides which join us through qualification. 

The draw itself has us go up against Ajax, who are the champions of Holland. Lyon who finished as Ligue 1 runners-up and Zenit the champions of Russia.

I think that the draw is going to be a test, however I am confident that we should at least be able to pick up a draw and a win which will not only go to help securing us some prize money but will draw down some much needed coefficient score given the fact that Kristiansund hopefully will be able to pick up some points against Slovan Bratislava in their Europa Conference League group.

 

The Eliteserien

As for the league we played a heavily rotated eleven for most of the month and were still able to not experience defeat, yes our 100% record has now gone but I can live with that! 

Bothiem has continued his impressive conversion rate, this now has our striker third in the average minutes per goal standings with a goal every 86 minutes. Botheim also has the second highest conversion rate in the league at 38% behind Edvard Tagseth 53%. (Edvard is on a three man shortlist for our midfield recruitment). 

We will no doubt wrap up back to back titles very soon, this will allow me to overhaul the squads Eliteserien registration to give chances to players from the second/U19 team to help with their development.

The schedule for September. 

 

 

Edited August 5, 2021 by MattyLewis11

[deltablue]

That looks like a busy run.

[smplfc123]

Congratulations on getting to the group stages of the CL. As you've said, that will absolutely secure the club's finances for years to come and give you the platform to improve the club as a whole.

The CL group is a tricky one. Whilst comparing 1 v 1 you'd say they should all probably beat you, but with none of them being the mega-teams (Liverpool, PSG, Barca, Real etc.) I feel you definitely have a fighting chance of getting enough points to pinch 2nd or maybe 3rd. I certainly hope that's the case anyway. 

Good to see you've continued to dominate the league. Out of interest, how are Gulliksen and Fosnaess Hanssen doing? (if they are still at Stromsgodset)

[MattyLewis11]

10 hours ago, smplfc123 said:

Congratulations on getting to the group stages of the CL. As you've said, that will absolutely secure the club's finances for years to come and give you the platform to improve the club as a whole.

The CL group is a tricky one. Whilst comparing 1 v 1 you'd say they should all probably beat you, but with none of them being the mega-teams (Liverpool, PSG, Barca, Real etc.) I feel you definitely have a fighting chance of getting enough points to pinch 2nd or maybe 3rd. I certainly hope that's the case anyway. 

Good to see you've continued to dominate the league. Out of interest, how are Gulliksen and Fosnaess Hanssen doing? (if they are still at Stromsgodset)

Thanks mate, I will provide you with another update tomorrow as I have just finished the next month. 

So happy to have qualified for the UCL, we were very lucky to avoid one of the better sides in that final round. 

Will let you know how those two are doing also 💪

[KlaaZ]

Nice CL draw, three teams that are quite equal to each other which means they'll all lose points left and right. And if you can cause an upset or two, who knows where you finish?

[MattyLewis11]

September 2021

The results in the Eliteserien on paper had us playing our worst football of the season, the four goals which we conceded across September was 40% of our year to date figure! 

The draw against our bogey team Haugesund should come as no suprise, for some reason we have always struggled against the mid-table side who now have taken four points from us in four league matches, considering how dominant we have been in the league maybe others should look to play a 4-4-1-1. This formation we have only faced in 9% of our games, with sides favouring a 4-3-3 (32%) and 4-2-3-1 (22%).

Erik Botheim continued his rich run of form, the striker has now 11 Eliteserien goals to his name, a progress on his six from last season. There is the possibility that we can win the league in the first fixture in October, this would see us retain our title, which is now a certainty.

UEFA Champions League

Lyon at Aspmyra

Lyon at home, our first ever Champions League tie proper, facing up against players such as Moussa Dembele, Houssem Aouar and Maxence Caqueret we went into the fixture expecting to see little of the ball and be forced to spend large periods of the game under significant pressure. Fortunately for Glimt we faced a Lyon side which were lacklustre and looked very unconvincing, this as we have come to know is a common trait which comes with French teams in general, they often lack and consistency and are hot and cold. 

Their pass combinations for the game is an ugly visual and shows how they weren't able to strike up any significant relationships and couldn't progress the ball up the field and played in a very condensed area. Dembele did get the away team off to a good start opening the scoring in the 7th minute, they were pegged back in the 19th minute by Kasper Junker.

The other result in the game between Zenit and Ajax also finished in a draw much to our delight. 

Zenit at Saint Petersburg

We well and truly made others stand up and take note against Zenit in Russia, our possession based game was in full flow for viewers to enjoy across the continent. We finished the game with 62% possession and totalled 23 shots compared to Zenit's 11. 

You will see from our heat-map that the majority of our play was within the attacking third, Berg completing 77 passes operating as a pure metronome, keeping the ball moving rather than focusing on chance creation (zero key passes).

 Tounekti scored the only goal of the game in the 16th minute, picked up an injury as we progressed the ball through Daland to Berg to Junker who found Donnum at the back post who squared the ball to our no doubt player of the season to tap home.

Tounekti picked up an injury in the game (injured foot) and will be out of action for two weeks, fortunately for him it is approaching the international break and he will only miss out on one game.

Lyon scored late on to ensure they remained undefeated, the Reine-Adelaide goal in the 80th minute has us going into the double-header against ajax top of the group. (for now) @KlaaZ

I have no doubts that the UCL form will draw an interest in our key performers, something of which to date has not happened, given the fact most interest has come from Belgium to date. 

@smplfc123 Sondre Fosnaess Hanssen has sealed a move to Molde for a fee of £1.4m, he was signed off the monies they made from the sale of Kristoffer Haugen to Beerschot (£1.4m) 

Tobias Gulliksen is still at Stromsgodset and is currently wanted by Standard Liege, he has started every game this season for the side currently in 6th place who are fighting for a top four finish. 

 

[deltablue]

That looks like a nice and competitive group.

[smplfc123]

3 hours ago, MattyLewis11 said:

@smplfc123 Sondre Fosnaess Hanssen has sealed a move to Molde for a fee of £1.4m, he was signed off the monies they made from the sale of Kristoffer Haugen to Beerschot (£1.4m) 

Tobias Gulliksen is still at Stromsgodset and is currently wanted by Standard Liege, he has started every game this season for the side currently in 6th place who are fighting for a top four finish. 

Great update mate and I feel my prediction of you getting through in the CL is off to a brilliant start!

Surprised at Gulliksen, he always seems to go for big money on my saves (Currently at Napoli on my Chievo save).

Glad you're enjoying Norway. It was my favourite save of FM21 until my current save with Chievo.

[MattyLewis11]

October 2021

Goals from Kasper Junker and Ulrik Saltnes secured a 2-0 victory over Stromsgodset and secured Glimt back to back Eliteserien titles, this time the trophy was presented to the All Yellows with six games to spare. At the end of the month we are on 70 points, chasing our total of 77 which we closed on last year.

We will be drafting in the following players from the second team for the final matches to give them the opportunity to draw down such minutes at the highest level to help with their individual progression.

1. Adan Hussein (CM)
2. Ask Tjaerandsen-Skau (DLP)
3. Simon Adingra (IF)
4. Per Ivar Nerdal (IW)

Ajax at the Johan Cruyff Arena

A little more normality was resumed from our trip to Holland to face Ajax, the Eredivisie champions putting us to the sword as they scored two second half goals through Lisandro Martinez and Antony. We can't really complaint too much about the result, although we carved out a total of nine attempts on goal many of those come from positions with a relatively low xG.  

In the other game within the group, Lyon secured their first victory of the campaign by defeating Zenit (2-0) goals were scored by Dembele and Aouar.

Given the fact we are already on my initial target of 4 points from the group at the mid-way point I think if we can secure one more victory (probably against Zenit) that will guarantee us a third placed finish, seeing us progress into the UEL.

Kristiansund in Europe

Kristiansund's performances in Europe have been nothing short of amazing, they have secured wins over both Feyenoord and Slovan Bratislava, whilst a surprise draw was achieved against Eintracht Frankfurt sees them top their group.

Given the fact that the association coefficient is determined by the results of clubs of associations over the past five seasons, awarding two points for each win and one for a draw (points are halved during qualifying rounds). The representatives of Norway are putting themselves in a good place to see a positive shift in the rankings - taking points purely from the group stages we have eight already prior to this being divided out. 

[MattyLewis11]

20 minutes ago, smplfc123 said:

Great update mate and I feel my prediction of you getting through in the CL is off to a brilliant start!

Surprised at Gulliksen, he always seems to go for big money on my saves (Currently at Napoli on my Chievo save).

Glad you're enjoying Norway. It was my favourite save of FM21 until my current save with Chievo.

I must admit mate I am a little surprised by the lack of transfers in Norway on the whole

Looking at the biggest deals over the past two seasons you will see that we have been the main drivers of the spend as only four of the major deals has seen cash injected into the league from external countries. 

Thoroughly enjoying this save though and the interaction from everyone which take the time to comment (much appreciated) this will 100% take me up to FM22. 

[SixPointer]

7 hours ago, smplfc123 said:

Great update mate and I feel my prediction of you getting through in the CL is off to a brilliant start!

Surprised at Gulliksen, he always seems to go for big money on my saves (Currently at Napoli on my Chievo save).

Glad you're enjoying Norway. It was my favourite save of FM21 until my current save with Chievo.

He went to Juve in my Odd season as well. 

[Sonic Youth]

Congrats on the league title 

The UCL form has been promising in your first outing. It probably showed you what your team needs to work on.

[john1]

What a draw against Lyon and a win against Zenit  

[MattyLewis11]

The closing stages of the second season

After securing back to back league titles and still in position to challenge within Group D of the UCL the final seven games to conclude our season would no doubt be action packed! I hope you strap yourself in and enjoy the read 

Ajax at Aspmyra

As you can see from the xG story, the result flattered us. Both sides shared an equal share of the possession, completing 450+ passes each, the main differentiator was our ability to carve out a shooting opportunity (chance creation training paying off). We had 12 shots on target compared to Ajax's 4! 

All goals come from the midfield trio with Sondre Fet grabbing a brace, the midfielders have well and truly stepped up this season all chipping in with their fair share of goals+assist.

In the other game in the group Lyon beat Zenit to remain top with eight points, we now were in second place (7) Ajax two points behind (5) and Zenit bottom (1). 

Lyon at the Groupama Stadium

With Ajax facing Zenit at home we would need to take something from this game at Lyon, we had shown that this was not an impossible task after securing a point in game week one. Kasper Junker got us off to an absolute flyer, opening the scoring in the sixth minute from a shot with a 0.29xG, however it wasn't to be! We continued to carve out chances but none of which came from good positions, the highest shot xG other than the goal was 0.1 and Lyon with the crowd behind them scored twice, both goals coming from that man Dembele! 

The only positive we could take was news from Holland, Artem Dzyuba had equalised for Zenit and had held on to secure the draw. Lyon had qualified, securing top spot (11) whilst we remained in second (7), Ajax third (6) and Zenit bottom (2).

We had the luxury of entering the final game at home against Zenit knowing we had secured third-place and would enter the UEL at a minimum. However with Ajax playing Lyon at home we were looking good to secure second place and pick up that extra £8.68 million of prize money.

Zenit at Aspmyra

Yes thats right we didn't secure the victory, it was that guy again Dzyuba the party pooper! Despite absolutely dominating the fixture we could not add the second goal! 

We had 27 shots against Zenit, only seven of which were on target! To make matters worse Ajax secured a victory over Lyon in their fixure thanks to Ryan Gravenberch which seen them finish the group in second place! 

We were so close to becoming the first Norweigan team to progress into the knockout stages of the UCL, which would have ticked off one of our objectives. I guess the luck we had last year in progressing in the UEL with just five points has now balanced out with the result.

I must admit I am absolutely devastated, I really need to take some time away from the screen to reflect on how I can make changes for next season as suggested by @Sonic Youth

The final games in the Eliteserien

The final games concluded with one win, one draw and a defeat to now relegated Start! 

We actually finished the season with exactly the same points as we did in our first, however we scored 18 more goals this campaign and conceded five less...progress right! 

We secured the league/cup double which I almost forgot to mention after defeating Molde

Erik Botheim scoring a late equaliser before adding two more, taking the match ball home as well as a winners medal. 

Botheim finished the season with 20 goals (13 in the league) 

As you can see, we again were not in contention to secure the 'Golden Boot' maybe there is a need to secure a selfish/lethal finisher! 

I will obviously write up a season two analysis over the coming week which will be my next post! I just need to reflect a little longer and also recover....the British Lions have also just lost the series...it is going to be a dark night! 

 

[KlaaZ]

Amusing, I have the same issue at Kopenhagen. Won the league eight times in a row now but never had the leading goalscorer. Daramy finished second place in 2020-2021 and Xadas as well in 2022-2023, apart from that not even a podium place.

It also doesn't help that there's a kid at Brondby who scored for fun. Bagged 34 goals two seasons ago, was leading goalscorer last season and is now up to 18 goals in only 11 appearances... And he's not even that good, I really have no idea how he keeps doing this.

[MattyLewis11]

10 minutes ago, KlaaZ said:

Amusing, I have the same issue at Kopenhagen. Won the league eight times in a row now but never had the leading goalscorer. Daramy finished second place in 2020-2021 and Xadas as well in 2022-2023, apart from that not even a podium place.

It also doesn't help that there's a kid at Brondby who scored for fun. Bagged 34 goals two seasons ago, was leading goalscorer last season and is now up to 18 goals in only 11 appearances... And he's not even that good, I really have no idea how he keeps doing this.

It's nice to know that you have also experienced the same problems! I guess it's better to have many players contributing in terms of goals than heavily relying on the odd one or two! 

I am just worrying that the lack of X factor up top could lead to always falling short in Europe. 

 

[john1]

Gutted you couldn't finish the job off against Zenit  

[SixPointer]

3 hours ago, MattyLewis11 said:.

 you can see, we again were not in contention to secure the 'Golden Boot' maybe there is a need to secure a selfish/lethal finisher! 

 

 

Only one man for the job. Albert braut tjaland

 

very unfortunate in Europe, its an area I struggled a lot with when I played Odd as the crucial games come towards the end of the domestic season or even worse the knockout games come in the pre season 

 

[Sonic Youth]

6 hours ago, MattyLewis11 said:

I must admit I am absolutely devastated, I really need to take some time away from the screen to reflect on how I can make changes for next season as suggested by @Sonic Youth

That was a rough exit 

This discussion came up in @_Ben_’s Swiss journey as well, when @turnip mentioned about how a strong second team that doesn’t affect your league form helped go deeper in Europe. I think something to do with resting your star players.

Does finishing chances created in the league become lower percentage finishing chances in Europe? Or is it it finishing chances that are the reason for not having a dominant finisher? Or where those chances are created and ability of those to finish them? The Zenit games looks like an example of this, maybe.

Finding a top class forward for your level of league is tough to keep.

I think you had a good season with lots of positives to build on 

Edited August 8, 2021 by Sonic Youth

[MattyLewis11]

9 hours ago, john1 said:

Gutted you couldn't finish the job off against Zenit  

Likewise mate, we really should have put them to the sword! In reflection we certainly did ourselves proud in our first time competing with the big boys. 

 

7 hours ago, SixPointer said:

Only one man for the job. Albert braut tjaland

 

very unfortunate in Europe, its an area I struggled a lot with when I played Odd as the crucial games come towards the end of the domestic season or even worse the knockout games come in the pre season 

 

Yes I agree the schedule certainly does not favour teams from Norway. I will have to be selective in relation to the pre pre-season fixtures depending on the draw for the UEL.

Will have to see how much Tjaland is valued by Molde and potentially put in an offer.

 

5 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

That was a rough exit 

This discussion came up in @_Ben_’s Swiss journey as well, when @turnip mentioned about how a strong second team that doesn’t affect your league form helped go deeper in Europe. I think something to do with resting your star players.

Does finishing chances created in the league become lower percentage finishing chances in Europe? Or is it it finishing chances that are the reason for not having a dominant finisher? Or where those chances are created and ability of those to finish them? The Zenit games looks like an example of this, maybe.

Finding a top class forward for your level of league is tough to keep.

I think you had a good season with lots of positives to build on 

I will have to look into this in a little more detail when conducting the analysis piece. We did rotate the key players as much as possible prior to UCL games, with those taking priority. 

However in saying this most of our best players were always in the red in terms of their condition with 15-20 mins to go in these bigger matches, so maybe rotation across the campaign could be an option....however that will probably effect their happiness. 

[Matt_1979]

On 27/07/2021 at 10:35, MattyLewis11 said:

Season One Analysis 

What would any end of season analysis be without a completed squad profile! I often use these on a seasonal basis to help me identify players which I need to either tie down with long-term contracts, offer out on loan or look to move on! 

If we split the visual into four quadrants this will help you to aid decsision making; 

Bottom left - these are younger members of the squad which haven't accessed a large volume of minutes, these are players which ideally need to be loaned out as their current pathway isn't getting them sufficient experience in terms of minutes on the field.

Top left - younger players which are playing regularly, all of which are yet to reach their prime, these players services need to be secured and any who have contracts running down need to be offered new deals.

Top right - older players drawing down minutes, they still play a key role within the squad and could potentially explore coaching  if over 30.

Bottom right - players who aren't really contributing to the side, can they be sold? If these players are high on your hierarchy or can be utilised for mentoring they still may add value to the squad. 

xPTS

Looking at the end of season report we secured 13 more points than out xPTS allotted for, given this feat we were the right champions considering expected points and can sleep with a smile on our faces knowing that we thoroughly deserved the trophy. 

Kristiansund who secured 4th place gained the most points than expected (17) whilst looking at the bottom of the table Viking fans have been left with a bitter taste in their mouths knowing that their side played well enough not to go down and should have done enough to secure their status in the Eliteserien despite finishing rock bottom.

Data analysis

I have opted to conduct a little data analysis to explore our lack of a prominent goal scorer, given the fact that we have dominated the league to not finish with a scorer on double figures is quite frankly a tad embarrassing! 

I have plotted the above looking at multiple metrics, Shots per 90 v Shots on target per 90 v xG, I have opted to look at these metrics to analyse who if there are players who can frequently test the opponents keeper and particularly test him from areas with a high xG. 

As you can see Moses Mawa is the leagues leading volume shooter, however when looking at the size of his plot (xG) he isn't taking those from positions with a high xG, Kjartansson and Faris are the most deadly in that respect.

Looking specifically at our players Saltnes has the highest xG per shot, this is due to him taking penalties, our other leading candidates all are taking a significant amount of shots but they aren't generating a good xG.....could the problem not be the striker but the supply?

To explore this I have opted to look into Key passes per 90 v Chances Created per 90 vs Assists, this visual helps us to understand a little more in relation to our problem.

As you will see the player creating the highest number of key passes is Patrick Berg, Berg is on corners which no doubt boosts high value and probably explains his low clear cut chances created which often come from when a player is played in behind the defensive line and is 1v1 against the keeper. 

Looking at the opposition two players stood out Carlo Holse (21) and Aron Donnum (22), both are creating a higher amount of key passes to Berg and are generating more chances created which in turn have more assists. With a transfer kitty of £9m there was only one thing left to do.

We secured the signing of Donnum for £1m up-front with a further £600k to be paid in six months - utilising our monies from the UEL tie against Leverkusen.

We also made a few more signings, as identified in my opening post (I think) we only have one ball playing defender which hampers our ability to break the press and play out from the back from both sides. 

We opted to sign Jesper Daland from Start for a record fee of £2.2m rising to £2.7 with a further payment of 500k in 6 months. As you can see from his attributes Jesper is a competant ball-player who also possesses great mental/physical attributes and no doubt will help us out defensively given his positioning, anticipation and composure.

The following two individuals were brought in for free, both are signings for the future...although I envisage Adingra having an impact from the bench due to his pace. 

Check out this goal

I hope you have enjoyed the update, thanks for following my journey! Onwards to season two! 

Luckily I’ve got a rampant cold so already had a box of Kleenex next to me whilst reading this post. 

[smplfc123]

Very unlucky to not get another goal against Zenit, but you're in to the Europa League though right? 

Really interested to see how you address the forward position. 

[turnip]

17 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

That was a rough exit 

This discussion came up in @_Ben_’s Swiss journey as well, when @turnip mentioned about how a strong second team that doesn’t affect your league form helped go deeper in Europe. I think something to do with resting your star players.

 

To expand on this, my goal once I'm in the qualifiers for the Champions League is to reach the Champions League. As in, my best 11 players will only play the qualifiers until either we're knocked out, or we qualify. So, my first 2-3 seasons of reaching Europe, we usually see pretty average league form while the qualifiers are going on, because I'm playing the backups. If I reach the Group Stage (either CL or EURO Cup), I then decide how likely it is I could finish first or second in the group. If I don't think it's likely, I'll send what is basically my Second XI to go play those European games, while the First XI concentrate on the league. 

Basically, no-one plays twice a week if Europe is going on (except the GK). Once the squad has been improved to the point we're in with a chance in the CL Groups, the First XI will focus on those games. It's not uncommon - if we go deep in Europe - that my best players will only get 12 league starts in a season. This way, the players get fewer injuries and their condition is generally much better during games. And if we do get an injury or PSG sign yet another one of my best players, I can bring in someone for an important game who's match fit/sharp and then swap in a youngster for a less important league game.

It's... not realistic, but it works. You also have to be a little careful about offering Important Player or Star Player statuses, although they tend to be happy if they get sub appearances in the games they're not starting.

[MattyLewis11]

Season Two Analysis 

After taking a little time to reflect and figure out how we could look to take the team forward into season three I am in a position to provide you guys with an update, in this piece I will attempt to dissect the performances of our striker in Europe to assess if there is a need to focus recruitment on this position. 

Of course I will start things off with a few snippets from the in-game end of season review, firstly looking at the expected points calculation to see who were the under/over performers within the Eliteserien.

 

The biggest over-performers of the season were newly promoted Lillestrom who picked up a whopping 16 more points than their performances merited! The sides ability/luck to not concede goals from positions with a high xG meant that instead of finishing the league in 14th place and facing a relegation playoff, they achieved a sixth place finish! 

Brann on the flipside were the least fortunate team over the course of the season, their performances should have seen them finish in 11th place, however due to their poor defensive form (conceding 20 goals more than expected) the finished in 15th place and will play their trade in the OBOS-ligaen next season! 

Donnum has been a revelation for the club and rightly secured a clean sweep at the end of season award ceremony, the £1.6 million signing from Valerenga after picking up 29 goal contributions (15 goals, 14 assists) in all competitions and secured his first cap with the national team. 

Starting Eleven Goal Contributions 

Comparing this seasons spread of contributions to last season, as season which we heavily relied upon two players Ulrik Saltnes and Kasper Junker, the ability to create/score goals has significantly changed across the team. 

You will see that in the league our attacking trident have provided the biggest threat and have 55 goals and assists between them across the league campaign! This is backed up by all the midfield trio who have an equal contribution and our attacking outlet down the left flank Bjorkan. 

When comparing the contribution in Europe you will notice a distinct change @Sonic Youth , yes it's clear as day...our striker Erik Botheim isn't adding the same value! This is an area which we will look to explore in a little more detail. 

The above statistics are those of leading goal-scorers within the UCL (Lukaku, Werner, Schick and Immobile) all of which boast a shot on target rate of 60% or higher. When taking the individuals shots on target and divided by the amount of goals they have scored you get the following;

1. Lukaku 57% 
2. Werner 60%
3. Schick 66%
4. Immobile 56%

If any of the above strikers hit the target with their shots there is over a 50% chance that it will lead to a goal.

Now lets take the same approach and apply to Glimt's Junker and Botheim.

The first thing which initially pops out is that both individuals have a shot on target value which is under 50% which means that more chances are going to have to be created in order to get a shot off which lands within the frame of goal. 

Now taking this one step further and looking at the conversion rate of their shots on target we get the below;

1. Botheim 20%
2. Junker 45%

Our leading striker is 12% off the pace set from those above, Junker based on this analysis should be the man to lead the line in Europe, leaving Botheim to continue his development in the Eliteserien where he has shown his ability to finish off chances.

Could this analysis lead to us adopting the approach set out above by @turnip one thing is for sure we will be looking to add a striker to the ranks over the summer, however it won't be this guy @SixPointer

Tjaland has signed a new contract with Molde which rules him out of the reckoning, we might have to expand our search to foreign lands for a suitable target for this one....don't worry I have already committed to spend £6.75 within the league already after securing a bumper deal with Rosenborg for Edvard Tagseth. 

The 20-year-old will be joining us to bolster the ranks in Midfield and provide rotation for Saltnes (CAR) who secured over 3,000 minutes of football across the season, we will give Rosenborg £4.5 million up-front with a further £2.25m spread over appearances fees for international caps and also league appearances. 

The UEL draw has taken place and we will face off against SK Slavia Prague in the first knockout round, on paper this is a fixture which should see us progress deeper into the competition, appearing at this stage is worth £456k whilst progress will secure us an additional £1m. 

 

 

Edited August 9, 2021 by MattyLewis11

[smplfc123]

Good read on the analysis front yet again mate.

Interested to see who you do bring in upfront now that Tjaland is unavailable. 

[Jtomsett11]

I've read a few threads on Scandinavia and written a journeyman one myself so wasn't sure I wanted to read another one,  but having started reading yours I've found your depth of analysis really interesting and I'll definitely be incorporating your method of displaying data such as minutes played v age in my own posts as they're both interesting for the reader and another important tool for you in managing your squad. Unlucky in the champions league, but for your first go it was very impressive. As you said before you'd have been happy with the prize money of a win and a draw, so hopefully you can see it as good progress even if it is horrible in the moment. 

[_Ben_]

5 hours ago, MattyLewis11 said:

You will see that in the league our attacking trident have provided the biggest threat and have 55 goals and assists between them across the league campaign! This is backed up by all the midfield trio who have an equal contribution and our attacking outlet down the left flank Bjorkan. 

Another top quality visual! How did you create this one?

You are looking so dominant so early in the save, which is fantastic. I also liked how you took some time away to analyse what you felt were shortcomings, even though, to me, it was clear forward steps for the club and success. Good teams are built on this kind of grounded thinking. 

Where does your search for a striker take you next?

[MattyLewis11]

1 hour ago, Jtomsett11 said:

I've read a few threads on Scandinavia and written a journeyman one myself so wasn't sure I wanted to read another one,  but having started reading yours I've found your depth of analysis really interesting and I'll definitely be incorporating your method of displaying data such as minutes played v age in my own posts as they're both interesting for the reader and another important tool for you in managing your squad. Unlucky in the champions league, but for your first go it was very impressive. As you said before you'd have been happy with the prize money of a win and a draw, so hopefully you can see it as good progress even if it is horrible in the moment. 

Thanks for taking the time to comment @Jtomsett11 I really enjoy the analysis side of the save and in all honesty I find that it is something which offers me a bit of escapism in terms of writing. 

33 minutes ago, _Ben_ said:

Another top quality visual! How did you create this one?

You are looking so dominant so early in the save, which is fantastic. I also liked how you took some time away to analyse what you felt were shortcomings, even though, to me, it was clear forward steps for the club and success. Good teams are built on this kind of grounded thinking. 

Where does your search for a striker take you next?

Again @_Ben_ the image is created using Tableau, I firstly plot the formation onto an image of a pitch using the Tableau Drawing Tool this automatically plots the XY axis. This gets saved and linked to the data to create the viz, a little tricky to explain on here but as always would be willing to help you out if you wanted to create your own.

In terms our search for a striker, I potentially could have found our guy in Benjamin Sesko of RB Salzburg!

As you can see from the above profile he has a similar profile to that of Tjaland and is available at half the price, his contract is due to expire in less than six months. 

When comparing the two players attributes against the Deep Lying Forward role with an attacking duty the players score the following;

• Technical: Sesko 59 vs Tjaland 47
• Mental: Sesko 75 vs Tjaland 85
• Physical: Sesko 24 vs Tjaland 27
• Total: Sesko 158 vs Tjaland 159

Tjaland does however have a better match to the clubs DNA as he possesses a better Work Rate, Composure and is better Off the Ball.

You can see from the below that there really isn't much to separate the duo's scout reports

This has me in a dilemma, do I pay the £1m (probable fee to sign Sesko) or wait a month and attempt to sign Tjaland (predicted fee £2m). 

The Glimt Wall of Fame

There were also a few more additions to the wall of fame, with a further four players making their debuts for their respective national sides wearing the yellow of Glimt. 

[SixPointer]

A cheap lethal poacher Oscar Aga Worth a look. But I like the look of Sesko, and how you put together then analysis 

[_Ben_]

4 hours ago, MattyLewis11 said:

Again @_Ben_ the image is created using Tableau, I firstly plot the formation onto an image of a pitch using the Tableau Drawing Tool this automatically plots the XY axis. This gets saved and linked to the data to create the viz, a little tricky to explain on here but as always would be willing to help you out if you wanted to create your own.

Need to have a proper look at Tableau. I have it downloaded but keep resorting back to good old Excel and the PowerPoint to make it pretty!

4 hours ago, MattyLewis11 said:

In terms our search for a striker, I potentially could have found our guy in Benjamin Sesko of RB Salzburg!

As you can see from the above profile he has a similar profile to that of Tjaland and is available at half the price, his contract is due to expire in less than six months. 

When comparing the two players attributes against the Deep Lying Forward role with an attacking duty the players score the following;

• Technical: Sesko 59 vs Tjaland 47
• Mental: Sesko 75 vs Tjaland 85
• Physical: Sesko 24 vs Tjaland 27
• Total: Sesko 158 vs Tjaland 159

Sesko every day for me. Not reliant on one foot, yet keeping parity in terms of attributes as well as fitting your needs more. 

[MattyLewis11]

Benjamin Šeško our new number nine

A fee of £1.3 million was enough to see the transfer of the18-year-old Slovenian to Glimt, let's hope Benjamin can light up the Eliteserien after leaving RB Salzburg the conveyor belt of attacking talent! 

His first time wearing the all yellow of Glimt and he's scored a hat-trick! Ok it was only against a heavily rotated Leicester City team in a friendly as we prepare for Slavia Prague but you won't see me complaining!  

We have scheduled the following friendlies to prepare ourselves for the UEL and Slavia Prague. 

Edited August 9, 2021 by MattyLewis11

[ShaunG95]

13 minutes ago, MattyLewis11 said:

Benjamin Šeško our new number nine

A fee of £1.3 million was enough to see the transfer of the18-year-old Slovenian to Glimt, let's hope Benjamin can light up the Eliteserien after leaving RB Salzburg the conveyor belt of attacking talent! 

His first time wearing the all yellow of Glimt and he's scored a hat-trick! Ok it was only against a heavily rotated Leicester City team in a friendly as we prepare for Slavia Prague but you won't see me complaining!  

We have scheduled the following friendlies to prepare ourselves for the UEL and Slavia Prague. 

Sesko is a really interesting forward. Will be looking forward to seeing how he gets on! I have a sneaky feeling he is going to get a potential buff on FM22 as he's involved in the Salzburg first-team this season. Fascinating that he has a sprint spreed comparable to Mbappe when he's 6"4.

[Matt_1979]

12 hours ago, MattyLewis11 said:

Season Two Analysis 

After taking a little time to reflect and figure out how we could look to take the team forward into season three I am in a position to provide you guys with an update, in this piece I will attempt to dissect the performances of our striker in Europe to assess if there is a need to focus recruitment on this position. 

Of course I will start things off with a few snippets from the in-game end of season review, firstly looking at the expected points calculation to see who were the under/over performers within the Eliteserien.

 

The biggest over-performers of the season were newly promoted Lillestrom who picked up a whopping 16 more points than their performances merited! The sides ability/luck to not concede goals from positions with a high xG meant that instead of finishing the league in 14th place and facing a relegation playoff, they achieved a sixth place finish! 

Brann on the flipside were the least fortunate team over the course of the season, their performances should have seen them finish in 11th place, however due to their poor defensive form (conceding 20 goals more than expected) the finished in 15th place and will play their trade in the OBOS-ligaen next season! 

Donnum has been a revelation for the club and rightly secured a clean sweep at the end of season award ceremony, the £1.6 million signing from Valerenga after picking up 29 goal contributions (15 goals, 14 assists) in all competitions and secured his first cap with the national team. 

Starting Eleven Goal Contributions 

Comparing this seasons spread of contributions to last season, as season which we heavily relied upon two players Ulrik Saltnes and Kasper Junker, the ability to create/score goals has significantly changed across the team. 

You will see that in the league our attacking trident have provided the biggest threat and have 55 goals and assists between them across the league campaign! This is backed up by all the midfield trio who have an equal contribution and our attacking outlet down the left flank Bjorkan. 

When comparing the contribution in Europe you will notice a distinct change @Sonic Youth , yes it's clear as day...our striker Erik Botheim isn't adding the same value! This is an area which we will look to explore in a little more detail. 

The above statistics are those of leading goal-scorers within the UCL (Lukaku, Werner, Schick and Immobile) all of which boast a shot on target rate of 60% or higher. When taking the individuals shots on target and divided by the amount of goals they have scored you get the following;

1. Lukaku 57% 
2. Werner 60%
3. Schick 66%
4. Immobile 56%

If any of the above strikers hit the target with their shots there is over a 50% chance that it will lead to a goal.

Now lets take the same approach and apply to Glimt's Junker and Botheim.

The first thing which initially pops out is that both individuals have a shot on target value which is under 50% which means that more chances are going to have to be created in order to get a shot off which lands within the frame of goal. 

Now taking this one step further and looking at the conversion rate of their shots on target we get the below;

1. Botheim 20%
2. Junker 45%

Our leading striker is 12% off the pace set from those above, Junker based on this analysis should be the man to lead the line in Europe, leaving Botheim to continue his development in the Eliteserien where he has shown his ability to finish off chances.

Could this analysis lead to us adopting the approach set out above by @turnip one thing is for sure we will be looking to add a striker to the ranks over the summer, however it won't be this guy @SixPointer

Tjaland has signed a new contract with Molde which rules him out of the reckoning, we might have to expand our search to foreign lands for a suitable target for this one....don't worry I have already committed to spend £6.75 within the league already after securing a bumper deal with Rosenborg for Edvard Tagseth. 

The 20-year-old will be joining us to bolster the ranks in Midfield and provide rotation for Saltnes (CAR) who secured over 3,000 minutes of football across the season, we will give Rosenborg £4.5 million up-front with a further £2.25m spread over appearances fees for international caps and also league appearances. 

The UEL draw has taken place and we will face off against SK Slavia Prague in the first knockout round, on paper this is a fixture which should see us progress deeper into the competition, appearing at this stage is worth £456k whilst progress will secure us an additional £1m. 

 

 

Still got a rampant cold, still got the Kleenex. Phew!! Lovely statty goodness. ❤️

[Matt_1979]

@MattyLewis11 continually rising the bar of FM blogging. Best there is in my opinion. 

[Sonic Youth]

On 09/08/2021 at 18:36, MattyLewis11 said:

When comparing the contribution in Europe you will notice a distinct change @Sonic Youth , yes it's clear as day...our striker Erik Botheim isn't adding the same value! This is an area which we will look to explore in a little more detail. 

The above statistics are those of leading goal-scorers within the UCL (Lukaku, Werner, Schick and Immobile) all of which boast a shot on target rate of 60% or higher. When taking the individuals shots on target and divided by the amount of goals they have scored you get the following;

1. Lukaku 57% 
2. Werner 60%
3. Schick 66%
4. Immobile 56%

If any of the above strikers hit the target with their shots there is over a 50% chance that it will lead to a goal.

Now lets take the same approach and apply to Glimt's Junker and Botheim.

The first thing which initially pops out is that both individuals have a shot on target value which is under 50% which means that more chances are going to have to be created in order to get a shot off which lands within the frame of goal. 

Now taking this one step further and looking at the conversion rate of their shots on target we get the below;

1. Botheim 20%
2. Junker 45%

Our leading striker is 12% off the pace set from those above, Junker based on this analysis should be the man to lead the line in Europe, leaving Botheim to continue his development in the Eliteserien where he has shown his ability to finish off chances.

Interesting, and also highlighting the performance of both forwards. I wonder if Junker’s age contributes to this.

Another thought that comes to mind might be how the react in important game, going missing? Could be why Bothiem didn’t perform. The same thought popped into my head about Mads Halsoy.

Your left side is so strong offensively! Is that why right back doesn’t contribute much offensively?

The analysis and then signing of Sesko looks like some good business based on an informed decision. Should also provide some healthy competition upfront too.

[MattyLewis11]

1 hour ago, Sonic Youth said:

Interesting, and also highlighting the performance of both forwards. I wonder if Junker’s age contributes to this.

Another thought that comes to mind might be how the react in important game, going missing? Could be why Bothiem didn’t perform. The same thought popped into my head about Mads Halsoy.

Your left side is so strong offensively! Is that why right back doesn’t contribute much offensively?

The analysis and then signing of Sesko looks like some good business based on an informed decision. Should also provide some healthy competition upfront too.

@Sonic Youththere is a possibility that the age factor is an influence on the individual performance, as for big games...I have no indicators other than that both players are flagged as being good (light green) in terms of consistency.

This shows me that neither are scoring poor under the hood in relation to big games. 

The left side is my main attacking outlet, yes. I admit Saltnes contribution has been bolstered thanks to his penalty taking duty, he is playing as a CAR...however I do have the get further forward PI selected in order to attempt to have two midfielders operate on the peripherals of zone 14. 

You may also be pleased to know that the analysis performed on the strikers allowed me to make the informed choice to select Junker as my lone striker for the fixtures against Slavia Prague which paid off.

Junker scored three goals across both ties, which in all honesty should have seen me knocked out of the competition if it were not for Klaesson making a total of 14 saves! 

Junker must have read my analysis on him from earlier, his three goals came from five shots on target....the magic 60% mark! Yeah I know, this is the UEL not the UCL! 

March 2022 looks like this on paper, I will update you after it's completion. 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2021 by MattyLewis11

[Sonic Youth]

Tight against Slavia, with a nice trip to Bergamo 

Good to see all that analysis of your forward line paying off as well 

How are Atalanta doing?

[MattyLewis11]

@Sonic Youth very tight against Slavia, we won't expect much from our games against Atalanta! 

The Serie A side walked their UEL group winning five from six, their opponents were FC Koln, LASK Linz and Dinamo Zagreb so expected, they have also just splashed out £33.5 million on Andrea Papetti. 

Duvan Zapata is leading their goal-scoring charts with 23, whilst European Chapionship (IRL) star performer Joakim Maehle has 11 assists to his name! 

Going to be a great spectacle going up against the great Gian Piero Gasperini. 

 

[john1]

Tough month coming up! Will be tough against Atalanta!

[MattyLewis11]

March 2022

The new season was finally upon us and with it the Mesterfinalen, the Norwegian version of the Community Shield which had us go head to head with Rosenborg who were rewarded for their second place finish in the Eliteserien. 

Our closest rivals ended up taking the lead after Holse won a penalty, the 22-year-old picked himself up, dusted himself off and dispatched his spot-kick. Sesko levelled up the score with a well placed header froma Edvard Tagseth corner before the new signing scored the winner. 

The strike was an absolute thunderbolt which he scored from what must have been 35-yards! What a way to introduce yourself on your debut!

As you can see form the above image, the goal was a perfect example of vertical tiki taka, our progressive passing cutting through Rosenborg like a hot knife through butter! 

We opened up the league in what would normally be a challenging fixture against our bogey team, Haugesund. However, today certainly went against historic trends as we ran away 4-1 winners...(but you had two penalties). Yes two penalties certainly helped, however you wont see Sesko complain as he secured the match ball! 

Newly promoted Sadnes put up more of a fight than expected, an early Joshua Smits own-goal and a strike from Mathias Bringaker had the home side leading 2-0 after 26 minutes. Fortunately we held our nerve and scored five goals without reply , Sesko chipping in with a goal and assists which secured him his second Player of the Match award on the bounce.

Stromgodset were defeated 3-0 with Tounekti grabbing a brace.

The above is the in-game form of Benjamin Sesko within the Eliteserien...if he can maintain this for I will have forgotten about Tjaland come the summer! 

 

UEFA Europa League

Avoiding defeat in the home leg against Atalanta was a massive achievement Glimt, one which has shown that we have progressed since last season. As you can see from the xG story the game was equal in terms of chances created and one which we secured the fair result. 

Martin de Roon (7) and Hans Hateboer (5) played an exceptional games, their tackling down the left-flank completely nullified our attacking outlet, only allowing us to have the one key pass from the left.

We still were in the game with a trip to Bergamo, and for 45 minutes we felt like we could at least score an away goal which could potentially force the result or at least extra-time.

It was not to be, after Hateboer scored in the 53rd minute our hearts were broken and the floodgates opened (check out how steep that xG line is) after Hateboer, Muriel and Zapata added the extra's to see us crash out of what has been a magnificent journey. 

April on paper could be a challenging month, I will obviously be aiming to attempt to outscore our previous two seasons (77) in terms of league points and therefore need to ride the green wave early doors to pick up momentum and smash any early hopes of the opposition.